No end in sight

Does the current world financial crisis mean the end of capitalism? The short answer — which will save you the trouble of reading any further — is “no”. The longer answer is “definitely not”.

I’m sorry to disappoint all the Marxists, communists and other assorted daydreamers out there. You may be enjoying the current crisis, but it ain’t going to lead to the working-class revolution you’re dreaming of while sitting in the comfort of your middle-class homes, sipping wines and enjoying other products from around the world that have been brought to you by the international capitalism that you hate so much.

Last week, The Guardian asked various “opponents of capitalism” whether the current financial crisis is “the moment they have been waiting for”.

Among the answers were:

* Ken Livingstone, former mayor of London: “Sadly, I don’t think this will be the end of capitalism.”

* Jarvis Cocker, singer: “It’s really nice seeing capitalism getting its comeuppance.”

* Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Green MEP: “It’s not the end of capitalism because capitalism has always had the intelligence to reform itself.”

Cohn-Bendit (“Dany the Red”) was a student leader in Paris in 1968 and so knows a bit about the reality of revolution. Now, he has a cool website and talks more sense than most on the left.

Cohn-Bendit knows there is no realistic alternative to capitalism as an economic system. But, as he says, “the belief that the market is God is over. It must now be regulated”.

That is the real debate. Not whether capitalism — that is, a system driven mainly by private ownership, choice and profit — should be  abolished. But about how the state should regulate the system to stabilize it and reduce its excesses.

For an interesting podcast debate on financial regulation, listen to Financial Times columnists John Kay and Martin Wolf on your capitalist computer or iPod. But first get yourself a nice glass of capitalist wine and relax on your capitalist sofa. Nice, isn’t it?